C-Murder gets earful from parents of teenager he is convicted of killing

Barred by a gag order for more than seven years from speaking about the killing of their son, the parents of the Avondale teen shot to death in a Harvey nightclub publicly addressed Corey "C-Murder" Miller for the first time Friday, before the rapper was sentenced to life in prison for murder.

Susan Poag / The Times-PicayuneDolores and George Thomas, the parents of 16-year-old Steve Thomas, who was killed by Corey 'C-Murder' Miller in January, 2002, leave the Jefferson Parish Courthouse on Friday after Miller was sentenced to life without parole.

Sitting in the jury box dressed in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed, shackled and shadowed by five deputies, Miller, who was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder, appeared at times confused and even sad as he listened to Steve Thomas' parents tell how their lives have changed since their 16-year-old son died Jan. 12, 2002, in the now-closed Platinum Club.

"We still cry every day for our baby, " said his mother, Dolores Thomas, who broke out in sobs and bowed her head as she described the past seven years. "We never got to see him graduate, go to prom, get married. We won't have a grandchild to love.

Steve Thomas was 16 when he was shot to death by rap musician Corey 'C-Murder' Miller at a nightclub in Harvey.

"We had to do two things that no parents should have to do, " she said. "We had to go to the morgue and identify my baby. Next, we had to make a funeral arrangement."

Friday's sentencing culminated Miller's retrial on the charge. He was first convicted on Sept. 30, 2003, but Judge Martha Sassone awarded him a new trial before he was sentenced, siding with his attorneys that prosecutors withheld criminal background information on three of their witnesses.

Defense attorney Ron Rakosky offered similar arguments Friday in seeking a new trial, saying prosecutors did not provide him with information about their only witnesses in last week's trial. That and other irregularities meant his client did not get a fair trial, he argued.

Susan Poag / The Times-PicayuneRon Rakosky, defense attorney for Corey 'C-Murder' Miller, was rejected in his argument for a new trial. He then withdrew from the case

Rakosky withdrew from the case. He asked to withdraw in April, saying Miller had not paid him in three years. But Liljeberg ordered Rakosky to remain on the case through the trial.

Miller told Liljeberg he plans to hire a private attorney for an appeal. In the interim, Liljeberg appointed the Louisiana Appellate Project, a state-funded law office whose attorneys represent indigent convicts.

Miller's aunt Marie Miller declined to say if the family has an appellate attorney, calling it "confidential."

"I know everything's going to work out, " she said. "The family is holding out pretty well because we know that this is going to a higher level."

Jury's 10-2 verdict to be issue in appeal

Perhaps Miller's most viable appeal issue rests with the question of whether non-unanimous jury verdicts are constitutional. The jury convicted him in a 10-2 vote.

On Sept. 29, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether to take up the argument in its fall session, Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino said.

Based on a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Louisiana and Oregon are the only states that allow convictions by 10-2 jury verdicts in some criminal cases. Occasionally in Louisiana, activist defense lawyers raise the constitutionality question in the courts, but the argument doesn't take hold.

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a similar argument last year in upholding the conviction of Baton Rouge serial killer Derrick Todd Lee, who was convicted of second-degree murder by a 11-1 jury verdict in the death of Geralyn Desoto, 21. In dismissing the argument, the court cited its 1972 decision.

This time, however, the court has asked for additional opinions in amicus or friend-of-the-court briefs, in deciding whether to accept the case of an Oregon man who was convicted of sex offenses by a 10-2 jury verdict.

"Many court watchers think the court is going to take the issue up, " Ciolino said Friday.

If the court agrees to hear the issue, "that would be a very good sign for Mr. Miller, " Ciolino said. "If the court on the 29th declines to hear it, then the issue is a loser."

If justices take up the case and change the practice, "then he's got a winner, " Ciolino said.

'It's a sad day for our family, also'

Rakosky also raised the issue in his motion for a new trial, saying Miller's constitutional rights to due process and to a trial by a jury of his peers were violated by the 10-2 verdict.

The jury was one vote short of convicting Miller until a juror changed her vote Tuesday afternoon after more than 13 hours of contentious deliberation. Rakosky said the nine white people on the jury favored conviction and the three black jurors did not -- until one of them changed their vote. He did not back the claim with evidence.

Susan Poag / The Times-PicayuneGermany Miller, sister of rapper Corey 'C-Murder' Miller, gathers her thoughts in front of the Jefferson Parish Courthouse on Friday after attending the sentencing hearing where her brother received life in prison without parole.

Miller's sister, Germany Miller, said after the sentencing she felt sorry for the Thomases. "But my brother is still innocent."

"It's a sad day for our family, also, " she said in more subdued tones compared with Tuesday's outburst after the verdict, when she screamed vehemently outside the courthouse that the Jefferson Parish judiciary is corrupt. She still maintained that opinion Friday.

George Thomas, Steve Thomas' father, left the courthouse Friday saying he never wanted to return. He and his wife and sister, Cynthia Thomas, have attended nearly every hearing during the seven-year prosecution of his son's killer.

In court, he testified his anger over his son's murder led to a heart attack. His doctor advised him to either release the anger or die, he said. He thanked the court and prosecutors "for your justice, " but he said he was "not rejoicing over anything."

He turned to the handful of Miller's family members in the audience.

"Y'all can see him, " he said. "Y'all can talk to him. What do we have? All we can look at are photos. I'm sorry, but that's the way I feel."

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Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3791. C.J. Lin can be reached at clin@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3796.